


Romantic Stylez

by VeryImportantDemon



Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: Adorable Soft Kisses, Avocato Lives (Final Space), Avocato also has a lot of feelings, Avocato is a little spoon, Card Games, Cuddling & Snuggling, Everytime We Touch is sung, Gary Goodspeed is Technically a Furry, Gary is Pops and Avocato is Dad, Gary is autistic, Gary is the big spoon, Gen, He's in love with Avocato, Invictus is mentioned, Kenny Loggins - Freeform, Little Cato is a Great Wingman, Little Cato loves his Dads, M/M, Nightfall is a Real Bro, Spider Cat!, The Macarena, he has a lot of feelings, it makes sense I promise, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 06:04:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20559449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeryImportantDemon/pseuds/VeryImportantDemon
Summary: “I think…” Gary said, sucking in a deep breath and straightening up, “that I’m in love with Avocato.”Nightfall’s expression suddenly shifted. Gary couldn’t peg it, but it might have been some kind of concern. “You think you’re in love with Avocato,” she repeated.





	Romantic Stylez

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Final Space fic because I'm a slut for some good Gary/Avocato. Space boyfriends ftw. This takes place at some point after Avocato is recovered from Invictus. It's also my 100th published Ao3 fic! Enjoy some good wholesome queer content. Also Brooklyn Nine-Nine references abound.

“Nightfall! Nightfall, Nightfall!” Gary screeched at the top of his lungs as he skidded down the halls of the Crimson Light in his socks. “Nightfaaaaaall!” He slid to a stop in front of the door, banging on it with a closed fist. “Nightfall, Nightfall, Night-“ His chanting was cut off when the door opened with a hiss. Standing in the doorway was the woman in question, looking irritated. 

“Don’t wear it out,” she said, deadpan.

“I need your help,” Gary said - or, more accurately, wheezed. He bent over, his hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath. “Oh, Lord,” he said. “I’m out of shape.”

“What is it?” Nightfall asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe. 

“I think…” Gary said, sucking in a deep breath and straightening up, “that I’m in love with Avocato.” 

Nightfall’s expression suddenly shifted. Gary couldn’t peg it, but it might have been some kind of concern. “You think you’re in love with Avocato,” she repeated. 

Gary nodded earnestly. “Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t realize it until now but I think I am.”

“How do you…” Nightfall trailed off, shaking her head. “Never mind. Just… Come in.” She stepped aside and Gary immediately threw himself into her bed dramatically. The door slid shut again as Nightfall pulled a chair over closer to where Gary was sprawled out, sitting in it backwards. 

“So,” she said. “You  _ think  _ you’re in love with Avocato.” 

“Ympfh,” Gary said, his face pressed into her pillow. 

“Gary,” Nightfall said. 

Gary sat up, huffing. “Yeah,” he said.

“Okay,” Nightfall said, shrugging. “What’s the problem with that?” 

“Because I don’t know what to do!” Gary said, throwing his hands in the air. “How do I react to this?”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning,” Nightfall suggested, wondering for a brief moment why she’d stayed with the crew of the Crimson Light. “When did you realize this?”

“So, it started a whole five to ten minutes ago,” Gary began. “I’m going to flashback. Stare off into space like you’re gonna see my flashback, too.” 

Nightfall sighed deeply again, wondering about Gary Goodspeed, but she did it anyway.

_ “Ah, you cheated!” Avocato declared, dropping his hand of cards onto the table but he didn’t look angry. He looked happy. Like he was actually having fun.  _

_ “I didn’t cheat!” Gary said with a laugh, leaning back in his chair. He hadn’t been this happy in awhile.  _

_ “You had to have,” Avocato said. “There’s no way you had  _ exactly  _ one king. Impossible.”  _

_ “What if I did?” Gary said cheekily.  _

_ Avocato’s whiskers twitched as he spoke. “What if I look at the deck and find out?” he said, reaching for it. _

_ With lightning speed, Gary snatched the deck of cards from under Avocato’s outstretched paw and sprinted for the other side of the room. “You’ll have to catch me first!” he said. _

_ “Oh, challenge accepted,” Avocato said. He climbed on his chair, pushing off of it to execute a perfect flying leap, tackling Gary to the ground and rolling with him. The deck of cards went flying as all of the breath left Gary’s body. _

_ When they finally stopped, Gary was flat on his back, Avocato hovering above him, paws planted on either side of Gary’s shoulders. “I guess we’ll never know if I did or did not cheat,” Gary said breathlessly, his eyes locked into Avocato’s large yellow ones. He’d never really realized how yellow they were before. It was really pretty, almost a gold color.  _

“Gary,” Nightfall said, breaking apart the story. “I’ve met Avocato many times. I know what his eyes look like. You don’t need to spend this much time describing them.”

Gary huffed. “It’s my story and I’ll tell it how I want,” he said indignantly. 

“Alright, whatever,” Nightfall said. “Just keep going.”

_ “Pity,” Avocato said, his voice a low, rumbling purr.  _

_ Gary sucked in a breath, suddenly aware he hadn’t taken one in a very long time. “Uh…” Gary said. “Yeah. Shame. It’s a damn shame. But, for the record, I did not cheat.” _

_ Avocato laughed, shaking his head slightly. Gary really liked that he was laughing. So much terrible, terrible stuff had happened to his buddy that he really deserved to be happy. Gary smiled at him sloppily because, well, he was happy, too. And didn’t he deserve that?  _

_ “Hey, Dad.” Little Cato’s voice cut through the moment. Avocato turned over, sitting back on his haunches beside Gary to face his son.  _

_ “Yeah?” he said and at the same time Gary spoke the same.  _

_ “Dad, not Pops,” Little Cato explained.  _

_ “Oh, tight, Spider Cat,” Gary said, giving him a thumbs-up as he pushed himself into a sitting position.  _

_ Little Cato turned towards Avocato again. “HUE wanted to see you,” he said, shrugging. “Something about how he had a really good joke you’d like to hear.” _

_ Avocato shrugged, rising to his feet. As he passed Little Cato, he slowed down, ruffling the tuft of blue fur on his head and squeezing his shoulder. “Thanks, Little Cato,” he said.  _

_ “No problem, Dad,” Little Cato said as the older, taller Ventrexian left the room.  _

_ Gary, still on the floor propped up by his elbows, was very intently watching Avocato leave, a half-smile still on his face. “As gross as it is,” Little Cato said, leaning against the wall of the ship and crossing his arms, “you guys are kinda awesome together. And you’re happy, which is great, because you’re my dads.” _

“Wait,” Nightfall interrupted. “So Little Cato was the one who-”

Gary cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Yes, yes, he did! I’m emotionally stunted, okay? Now let me tell my story.”

_ “Wait, what?” Gary said. “You mean you think me and your dad - me and Avocato - are together, romantic styles? That’s crazy. He’s… He’s my bro! My bro, Avocato. My Brovocato, if you will. He’s not definitely not my… Romantic partner!” _

_ Little Cato shook his head, laughing softly. “Come on, Pops,” he said. “He’s happier with you than he’s ever been with… Well, anyone. Even my mom. And you are, too.” _

_ “I can’t be in love with your dad,” Gary said. “What about… What about Quinn?”  _

_ “You can love more than one person, dude,” Little Cato said. “But maybe, and this is just one opinion, you think you’re in love with Quinn because you think it’s what you’re supposed to do? And who you’re supposed to be? But you don’t have to love her romantic styles,” he said, making air quotes around the last two words. He stopped, frowning slightly. “Wait,” he said. “Not unless you want to. I mean, I’m not trying to tell you that you shouldn’t be with Quinn if that’s what you really want and you have to be with my dad, I was just saying that I thought you were with my dad, and I…” He faltered, sighing. “I want you to be happy.” _

_ Gary didn’t talk for a very long time. The silence stretched between them for what felt like an eternity before Gary finally broke the silence. “Thanks, Spider Cat,” he said, holding his hand out. Little Cato relaxed a bit, smiling weakly, and took Gary’s hand, helping pull him to his feet.  _

_ “I need to go talk to Nightfall,” he said firmly and he took off down the corridors.  _

“So, pretty much, that’s what happened,” Gary finished. “And now I’m here, with you, trying to figure out if I’m in love with Avocato or not.”

“Huh,” Nightfall said and that was all she said.

  
  


“What  _ huh? _ ” Gary repeated. “What do you mean by  _ huh _ ?”

“Just thinking about what Little Cato,” Nightfall said. “Give me a second.” 

Gary waited exactly one second before he spoke again. “What did  _ huh  _ mean?”

Nightfall looked like she wanted to sigh but didn’t. Instead she looked sad. “Did I pressure you?” she asked. 

“Pressure me?” Gary repeated. “Pressure me into what?” 

“Being in love with Quinn,” she said. “I… I told you about my Gary. All of the other universes were we were together. But if you don’t love her like that, if that’s keeping you from going after who you really want to be with…”

“Oh, Lord,” Gary said. “Nightfall, that’s not it. That’s not it at all. I do love you. Quinn, I mean. My Quinn. And you, too. But not like… Romantic styles?” He said it like it was a question and then sighed in disappointment at the terminology he’d used. “Like, I care about you. Very much. But that’s not what…”

“What you’re stuck on?” Nightfall offered. 

“Yeah!” Gary said, latching onto that. “Yeah, that’s it. Not stuck on that.”

“Then what is it?” Nightfall said. “If you, you know… Talk to me, I might be able to help.”

Gary hesitated. “I don’t know where to start,” he said.

“Well, I’ll start, then,” she said. “When Little Cato insinuated you and Avocato were together,” she paused, making air quotes around the next two words, “romantic styles, you tried to tell him how you weren’t right away. Who were you trying to convince - you or him?”

Gary paused, frowning. “Me, I think,” he said. 

“Okay,” Nightfall said. “Now… Why do you think you were doing that?”

Gary shrugged. “Hell if I know!” he said. “If I did know, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Well, why do you  _ think  _ you did that?” Nightfall said. “You don’t have to know. Just think.”

“Maybe I tried to convince myself that I’m not in love with Avocato because he’s both the best and only friend I’ve ever had and because everyone I’ve ever loved including my mom, my dad, my Quinn, and Avocato twice before has left me or been killed and I’m terrified that maybe I’m the problem that’s hurting all of them and I don’t want to hurt Avocato again and also I may possibly be afraid that if I am in love with him and he’s not also in love with me, then it’ll ruin the, and I’m reiterating here, best friendship I’ve ever had,” Gary said all in one go, thoughtfully. 

Nightfall was a little bit in awe when Gary finished speaking. But there had been some insights there. 

“Gary,” she began, “you have to know that what happened to your dad, to Quinn, to Avocato wasn’t your fault. None of it was.” 

“Well, I can definitely take credit for Quinn,” he said. “You told me that every other time it had been me who closed the breach. I saw all of… The alternate mes in Final Space. If I’d closed the breach this time, then Quinn would still be safe. She’d still be… Here.”

“Gary,” Nightfall repeated. She leaned forward, gently placing her hand on his knee. “Quinn is a grown woman. She can make her own decisions and think for herself. She knew what could happen if she closed that breach and she did it anyway. It was her choice and what happened to her was in no way your fault. If I know her, and I do, she’d be glad that you’re here. That you’re happy. That you’re…” She trailed off. “In love.” 

“She would?” Gary asked, somewhat hopefully. 

“Yeah,” Nightfall said. “I’m sure.” 

Gary smiled softly again. “Okay,” he said. “Okay.” 

“Okay,” Nightfall repeated. “Now that that’s dealt with. Do you love him?” 

“That’s direct,” Gary said. “No beating around the bush.”

“Nope,” she said. “Not with me. Do you?”

Gary hesitated. “I… I don’t think I’ve ever been in love. You know, romantic love? I’m pretty sure I loved my dad. But I’ve never really loved anybody. So I don’t know. But…”

“But?” Nightfall prompted. 

“But my chest gets all tight when he gets really close to me and if anything bad happened to him I think I would kill everyone in the room and then myself,” Gary said seriously. 

Nightfall couldn’t help but smile a little bit at that. “That sounds a lot like love,” Nightfall said fondly. 

“Love,” Gary repeated. “I need to go sit and think.” 

He pushed himself off the bed and onto his feet, starting towards the door. Nightfall stood up and stopped him, putting a hand on his arm. “Gary,” she said. “Gary, are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” Gary said. When he looked up at Nightfall, he was smiling. His eyes were smiling and she could tell that he was actually, genuinely okay.

“Good,” she said, retracting her hand. She smiled at him, he smiled back, and then Gary slipped out the door and down the corridor. He did it silently, which was a change from the usual. He still wasn’t upset, however. He was just thoughtful. 

Gary found himself back in the control room with cards scattered everywhere. He sat down in the midst of the pile, picking up the ones closest to him. 

“Hey, AVA?” he said. “Can you play me something?”

“It depends,” AVA deadpanned. “What do you want me to play, Gary?”

“Loggins,” he said. Loggins comma Kenneth had always held a special place in his heart. He was of the opinion that there was a Kenny Loggins song for every situation and that this one was no different. 

“I will see what I can find,” AVA intoned again. After a few beats of silence, a familiar song started playing. 

“ _ Sunny days and starry night and lazy afternoons… You’re counting castles in the clouds and singing little tunes…”  _

Gary couldn’t help but smile a little. His dad had liked that song. He could very clearly hear his dad singing it to him. It was a good song, a sweet one, and it definitely applied to his current situation. The Loggins Theory endured.

He thumbed through the deck, his mind racing as Loggins sang on. His conversations with Little Cato and Nightfall were playing on loop. Now it wasn’t really a question of  _ if  _ he loved Avocato, it was a question of  _ how.  _

( _ “Just think of your friends. The ones who care.”) _

In the million different ways he saw this whole crusade for saving the Earth and defeated Invictus ending, he saw himself with Avocato at the end.

( _ “They all will be waiting there with love to share.”) _

Avocato, Little Cato, Nightfall, Quinn, Mooncake, HUE, sometimes Ash and Fox and _maybe _Clarence... But not KEVIN. Never KEVIN. 

The point was that he saw himself with Avocato. And if he thought about it long enough…

( _ “And your heart will lead you home.”) _

“How’s it going?”

The low rumble of Avocato’s voice startled Gary out of his own head and back into the present, almost dropping the cards again. 

“Oh, pretty good, pretty good,” Gary said. “Been a good day. Having a good time here, on the ground, picking up cards.”

“Have you been here the whole time?” Avocato asked as Gary looked up to meet his eyes. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and one leg bent. He looked casual. Comfortable.

“Uh, no,” he said. “Nope. I went to talk to Q- Nightfall. Nightfall. And then we talked about some stuff and I came back to pick this up so Clarence doesn’t steal them… What did HUE want?” he asked, an abrupt change of subject. 

“Ah, he had some dumb joke he wanted to tell me,” Avocato said, shrugging. 

“Aw, come on. You gotta tell me now,” Gary asked. 

Avocato shook his head and sighed deeply. “What is the worst kind of cat to have?” He paused for a beat before saying, “A catastrophe.”

“Ha!” Gary burst out laughing, one hand clutching his side. “That is actually the greatest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life! That’s amazing! Oh, Lord. I didn’t know HUE had it in him!”

“Ha, ha,” Avocato said, a touch sarcastically, but he was smiling anyway. “Hilarious.” He paused for another few moments, his head tilted and listening to the song as Gary’s laughter petered out. 

“So,” he said. “Is this the only music you listen to?”

“Oh, no,” Gary said. “There are many classics from the heyday of Earth’s music. AVA, play me a song!”

“What song should I play, Gary?” she asked. 

“Mm… Your choice,” he said. “Something very 21st century.” 

“I think I have a song in mind,” she said. There was a beat of pause and another familiar melody started to play. 

_ “I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me,”  _ echoed through the control room over the speakers. 

Gary let out another short, barking laugh. “Oh, this is fantastic,” he said. “There’s a dance to this song!” He tossed the half a deck of cards he had collected back into the air and sprang to his feet. “I have to show you! This is awesome.”

Avocato apprehensively watched Gary’s excitement from the wall. “I don’t dance,” he said, shaking his head slightly.

“Oh, you do now!” Gary said. “Come on, dance with me. It was called the macarena and it totally goes with this song. Just follow me, it’s super easy.”

Reluctantly, Avocato pushed himself off the wall, standing next to Gary with a small amount of space between their shoulders. He followed Gary’s movements while the song played above them -  _ “Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why. Without you it's hard to survive _ .” 

Palm down, palm down. Palm up, palm up. Shoulder, shoulder. Head, head. Right hand to left hip, left hand to right hip. Right to right, left to left. Shimmy, shimmy, turn..? Avocato really didn’t know what he was doing, just blinding following Gary’s motion. Gary could tell, but this was still so much fun. He loved being able to share this with Avocato, being able to dance and  _ have fun  _ after all the terrible things that happened. 

“It’s gonna get faster!” Gary said excitedly. The music did pick up, Avocato frantically copying Gary to keep up. He glanced over at Avocato, smiling again.

_ “Everytime we touch,”  _ was palm down, down, palm up, up. “ _ I get this feeling,”  _ was shoulder, shoulder, head, head. “ _ And every time we kiss,”  _ was right to left, left to right, right to right, left to left.  _ “I swear I could fly,”  _ was shimmy, shimmy, turn. The next two lines -  _ “Can’t you feel my heart beat fast, I want it to last. Need you by my side.”  _ \- repeated the entire sequence.

“This is so much,” Avocato called over the music. “How much longer is this song?”

“Just keep going!” Gary said, laughing as he danced. Although he didn’t know it, Gary’s enthusiasm was infectious. What he did notice was that Avocato was loosening up, smiling,  _ laughing. _ It was great, he thought, as  _ “Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static. And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky,”  _ poured out of the speakers. He was so into dancing, laughing, having fun, that he didn’t even notice that when he shimmied, shimmied, and turned right onto a few of the cards. Without warning, his feet were no longer underneath him. He’d slid on the card and he was plummeting towards the ground. 

_ “Want you in my life,”  _ sang AVA’s speakers as Avocato reached out and grabbed Gary out of the air. 

“Whoa,” Gary said. Avocato was holding him in a dip like a starlet in an old Hollywood movie from years and years and years ago and they were  _ very  _ close together. Gary was acutely aware of that, staring at Avocato’s face, and Avocato was staring back. The only silence over the chorus of the song behind them was between Gary and Avocato. 

“Are… Are we about to kiss?” Avocato asked, his eyes flicking down to Gary’s lips before back to his eyes. It was a reasonable question to ask, Gary thought, because he was about to ask it himself. 

“I think so, dude,” he said finally. He paused briefly before speaking again. “Do you… Want to?”

“I would literally give my life for you at any moment,” Avocato said seriously, softly. Gary could tell he meant it, too, because he shared the sentiment. 

“I barely know you,” Gary said, his eyes still locked onto Avocato’s wide gold ones. 

“That’s a good thing,” Avocato said. 

He swung Gary up so they were both standing on their feet facing each other. “Whoa,” Gary said, a little bit because of the headrush he got from the abrupt change in position. But mostly it was because of… “Deja vu,” he said. “Haven’t we had this conversation before?”

“Probably,” Avocato said, shrugging. 

“Well, I want to,” Gary said, a little nervously. His hands were fluttering around his sides and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. He’d never done anything like this before. “Know you, I mean.”

Avocato’s brows furrowed. “You didn’t say that last time,” he said. 

Gary shrugged. He hesitated before he lifted his hand up, gently placing it on Avocato’s arm. It felt… Right. It felt like it belonged there. Like he belonged here with Avocato, standing across from each other, very close, very much about to kiss. “But I am now,” he said. “I really, really want to know you. Everything.”

“Everything?” Avocato said. “Gary, I’ve done some things. When I was with the Lord Commander, I-”

Gary cut him off. “I know,” he said. “And I want to know you, all of it. The good things and the bad things. I’m not going to flake out on you, Avocato. I’m in it for the long run. I…” He faltered slightly, acutely aware of his hand on Avocato’s arm. “I’m pretty sure I’m very, very much in love with you. But not just, like,  _ in love  _ with you, because that implies that it’s like fickle, but I told you I’m in it for the long haul. I love you. A lot. For reals. And… And I really plan on it staying that way.” He finally tapered off, realized that he had just been looking on Avocato’s shoes the entire time, and looked back up to his eyes. They were unreadable. 

“Hey,” he said. “No words,” Avocato added softly. “No words, just this.” 

Avocato hesitantly leaned forward and Gary took the initiative and closed the gap between them. Their lips touched, gentle, but it was, truthfully, the best kiss Gary had ever had. He went a bit weak at the knees, the hand on Avocato’s arm squeezing gently. He hadn’t kissed anyone, really kissed anyone, in a very long time, and he didn’t think Avocato had, either. Regardless, kissing him felt natural. Like he was supposed to do this. 

Eventually, they pulled apart, breathing softly and staring at each other. 

“Oh my crap,” Gary said, the first to break the silence. 

“Whoa,” Avocato agreed. “That was…”

“Good?” Gary suggested. 

“Oh, good,” Avocato said. “Good. That was definitely good.”

“Good,” Gary said. He was seldom at a loss for words but he definitely was now. He was kissing someone that he was definitely in love with. What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to react? “I just…” He stumbled over his words again but Avocato just smiled softly back at him. “What do we do now?” 

“I think we go forward,” Avocato said. “First, I think we should pick up these cards.” He bent down, starting to shift a few of the cards into his hand. Gary followed, casting glances up at Avocato and smiling shyly whenever he got caught looking. He wasn’t the only one, though, because he caught Avocato looking a few times, too. When they finally had all the cards picked up, Gary sat down on the floor, crossing his legs. 

“Here, gimme,” he said, holding out his hand and making a grabby motion. Avocato sat across from Gary, handing over the cards he’d picked up. Gary shuffled them together before dealing himself and Avocato a hand of 6 cards each before placing the rest between them. “Go fish,” he said. “And definitely no cheating this time.”

“Says the person who cheated last time,” Avocato teased gently.

They played through the game for a bit in companionable silence, AVA’s music selection changing to something a bit more lowkey. After a few rounds, Gary spoke. 

“Where do you sleep?” he asked. 

Avocato looked up at Gary, frowning slightly. “Where do I sleep?” he repeated. 

“Well, yeah,” Gary said. “I mean… I haven’t actually seen you, you know, have a room?” Gary added, his voice lifting into a bit of a question. “So where do you sleep?”

Avocato hesitated, his eyes on his hand of cards. “I don’t have a room,” he said. “I stayed in the infirmary after….” He stopped again and while his eyes were still on his cards, they got a far away look. “Invictus,” he said finally. It had taken a very, very long time after they got him back for his body to recover and his mind was still working on it. “I catnap wherever I fit,” he said. “I like the engine room.”

Gary went silent, watching his cards. Even as a kid when he had nothing, he had a room. He had his treehouse. Avocato deserved that, too. He deserved everything. “You can sleep with me,” he offered before stopping and frowning. “I mean, not like that. Not in, like, a sex way. In, like, everyone should have a room way. You can just sleep in my room, where I am also sleeping.” Gary was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he was rambling and his cheeks were pink. “Oh, Lord,” he said. “I’m just going to stop. I’m stopping now. I’m done, I promise.”

Avocato didn’t speak for a few moments either but when his eyes finally focused again and he looked up at Gary, he did. “Thanks,” he said. “Did you mean what you said earlier? That you wanted to know me?”

“Of course,” Gary said seriously.

“Maybe someday. I’ve never done that before,” he said. “Shared a room with someone. I’ll have to tell you about, you know… My before sometime.”

Gary couldn’t help but smile at that. “Thank you,” he said, “for trusting me with that.”

“Thank you for trusting me to stay around,” he said, smiling weakly. Avocato sat his hand of cards down, rising to his feet. He paused in front of Gary before leaning down and kissing his forehead. “I’m new at this,” he confessed. 

“It’s okay, dude,” Gary said. “Me, too.”

Avocato smiled softly before turning away and slipping out of the room. 

Gary, aware that he had cleaned up the same deck of cards at least two or three times today, sighed happily, tossed his hand into the air, and flopped onto his back. He was grinning like an idiot, spread-eagled like he was making a snow angel. He just couldn’t stop smiling. He had kissed Avocato and Avocato kissed him back and  _ he was in love with Avocato  _ and AVOCATO LOVED HIM BACK. It was, no exaggeration, one of the best days of his entire life. 

He wasn’t sure how long he laid there on the floor of the control room, bathing in the happiness of everything that had just happened, but at some point, Little Cato broke into his thoughts. 

“Uh, Pops?” he said from the doorway, frowning. “You okay?”

Gary sat up instantly, still beaming. “I am absolutely amazing,” he said. “Today is the best day ever.” 

Little Cato tilted his head. “What happened?” he asked cautiously. 

Gary sprang to his feet, dodging the fallen cards to cross to his feet and plant his hands on Little Cato’s shoulders. “Me and your dad were locking lips,” he said. 

“Ew,” Little Cato said but he was smiling again. 

“Swapping spit,” he said. “Making out. Snogging. Sucking face.”

“Ew, Pops, gross,” Little Cato said, laughing and trying half-heartedly to pull away. “You don’t have to tell me that much.”

“We were playing tonsil hockey, my boy!” he said excitedly, pulling Little Cato into a tight hug. Little Cato, laughing, wrapping his arms around Gary and hugged him back, burying his face against Gary’s chest. 

Gary laughed again. He finally released Little Cato, getting down on one knee to be at eye level with him. “Thank you, Spider Cat,” he said seriously. 

“I didn’t… Pressure you or anything?” he asked. 

“Definitely not,” Gary said, ruffling Little Cato’s tuft of blue fur. “You just made me think, you know?”

“You’re happy?” Little Cato asked. 

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m stupid freaking happy, Spider Cat.” 

“Good,” Little Cato said. He paused for a beat before throwing his arms around Gary again and tucking his head into Gary’s shoulder. “I love you,” he said, his voice muffled. 

“I love you, too,” Gary said. “Now, go to bed.”

“I’m going,” Little Cato said. He released Gary and scampered off out of the control room. 

Gary smiled as he watched the little cat leave before actually picking up the deck of cards for the last time, shuffling them, stacking them, and leaving them next to the console. He headed towards his room, still glowing. 

He wasn’t sure exactly how he managed to fall asleep because he was so wired and excited from the kiss and the conversation with Avocato. But he did fall asleep, a blissful, dreamless, restful sleep. He didn’t get too many good night’s sleeps so he treasured this one. Until, of course, he was woken up. 

For a few moments, staring in the darkness, he wasn’t sure exactly what woke him up. “Mooncake?” he murmured, rolling over. 

“Chookity?” Mooncake said sleepily. He emerged from under a pile of blankets in the corner, blinking at Gary. 

Gary frowned, sitting up in bed. His blankets pooled around his waist. A shape shifted in the darkness, framed in the doorway by the light in the corridor. Gary squinted. “Avocato?” he said. 

“I can go,” Avocato said, taking a step back. He turned, his tail flicking behind him. 

“Hey, wait,” Gary said. “Don’t. AVA, can you turn the lights on?”

“Of course, Gary,” the ship’s AI said, deadpan. The lights flicked on and Avocato turned around. 

“What’s up, buddy?” Gary said. 

“I was just…” Avocato faltered. “Never mind. It’s cool. I’m going to go.” 

“No, stay,” he said. “Come on. What’s up?”

“Does that offer still stand?” Avocato asked. “You know, letting me stay here?”

Gary smiled. “Of course,” he said. “Anytime.” He scooted over in the bed, patting the mattress. “Come on in, bud. Do you wanna be the big spoon or the little spoon?”

Avocato frowned as he crossed the room. “Do I wanna be what now?”

“The big spoon or the little spoon,” Gary repeated. “Do you wanna be the cuddler or be cuddled?”

“Oh,” Avocato said. He stood next to the bed, tugging off his shoes before boosting himself up. “Little spoon.” 

“Awesome,” Gary said, watching Avocato climb up beside him. Avocato swung his legs up on the bed. Gary threw the blankets over them. “Hey, dude, is it okay if I touch you? I can go over the blankets if you’d feel better.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Avocato said. “This is just… New.”

“I get it,” Gary said. He shifted closer to Avocato, throwing an arm around him. Avocato shifted closer towards Gary, his face close to Gary’s chest. It wasn’t exactly spooning but Avocato still felt… Comfortable. Safe. He never slept with his back exposed but with Gary wrapped around him, he felt safe.

“Hey, AVA, can you get the lights?” Gary asked. 

The AI didn’t respond, the lights simply flicking off. 

“Goodnight, Avocato,” Gary said. 

“Goodnight, Gary,” Avocato said, his voice muffled by Gary’s chest and the thicket of blankets. 

Gary sighed softly, his hold on Avocato tightening slightly. Come what may, Gary had a feeling that everything was going to be just fine.


End file.
